Welcome to the beginning of the the Kala Nation cultural movement.Kala means tribe or bond.In old West Africa Kalas were the building block behind the great empires that linked all African societies together in a complex structure.This kept wars down and protected smaller villages from stronger ones.At the top was the apex kingdom called Mali,which means where the king of kings live.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

In another week the world will commemorate the 40 years since the the passing of Dr Martin Luther King jr.Alot has change since that time period so I am told.What is not often told is Dr King had his detractors in our community who thought his I have a dream was just good ole darkie wishful thinking and that the more we intergrate into America the more peril we face.You see most African Americans living outside the south didn't think building this fantasy rainbow America was possible or feasible.What was needed and desired was respect and power.Black pride and power is what the community wanted.Black power=respect,self improvement,empowerment,control over ones destiny.White power=slavery,domination,racial supremecy,violence,racial oppression.So Dr King knew we had to over come White domination in order to realize peace with the White man.In 40 years it sad to report that we have not done that.We have 40 million dollar slaves,coons,buffoons blowing money entertaining the world while the world laughs at the most helpless people on the planet.A people with a trillion plus dollars in earning power but have nothing not even a restaurant chain.

The question that must be asked is why is it hat we have theses institutions back inthe day but not now.What good is all of this when we 99% of us still are employed by other races?Why does our youth think it is ok to engage is self genocide?Who is behind the corupting of our youth.We know BET(Black Evil Television)or MTV(Minstrel Television)only puts out the most ignorant,vile garbage around.Can you imagine Marcus Garvey,King,Malcolm X looking down from heaven on the people they loved and sacrificed for?What is this negative force that is damning our people back to slavery?It is a negative devil inspired culture that has people confused on what is right and what is wrong.You see not only do rappers brag about their sins and crimes,and have no fear of reprisals.They and their evil is celebrated.Now what music movement is around today that makes heroes out of race traitors like Jay Z,Nas,Rick Ross,and marginalizes groups like Kala Nation,Nation of Islam, Blacktown.net?It is the hip hop industry.The original culture is gone,now the purpose of hip hop is to lead as many souls to hell to burn as possible.Do I sound like a hater?Good because I am one.I hate lies,deceit,treachery,murder,cooning,and disrespect.The following is an example of why I think Black America is go to to need a bloody civil war in order to survive.I believe most of these hip hop sites are owned by Whites,who are stealing an African American art form and using it to make money and destroy the Black youth.This is an article from some fool named Odeisal on why Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls should be honored on the level as Dr King and Malcolm X.I refuse to believe Odeisal is even Black,just a White middle aged man fooling gullible hip hop clowns,making money and getting to use the N word at will.This is what he wrote back in January

By Odeisel

Legacy. Something handed down from the past for the benefit of the future. Never has there been a more precious gift than a life laid down so that others may enjoy liberties you were denied. Such is the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As we near what would have been Dr. King’s 79th birthday, we as a Hip-Hop community should truly reflect on what a gift that legacy was, and answer the loaded question: “Are we living up to the challenge of continuing that legacy?” The central question, I suppose, is are we leaving our culture in a better position to be a vehicle of change for those that come after us? Or are we leeching the culture leaving a useless husk in its wake?

Hip-Hop has proved to be our salvation in many ways. Jim Crow has been replaced by the glass ceiling. The noose and the flaming cross have been replaced with media assassination, bathroom plungers and bullets from blue clad soldiers who fear wallets. Hip-Hop has become the voice of our community where the Black Church once stood. The voice of Jay-Z, who calls himself Jay Hova, resonates louder in the minds of children than Jehovah. We rage against the machine with a voice that is changing the globe. Hip-Hop is the greatest agent of cultural diffusion this planet has ever seen. Faster than the Crusades. More powerful than sports. Able to have children of all races refer to each other as ni**as in a single bound. But is that a good thing? Does the newest integration allow for us to continue our struggle for advancement?

Hip-Hop has moved our young men off the corners and into the booth. Off the block and into the boardroom. From reporting to P.O.'s to being CEO's. Unfortunately many have ushered in that criminal element with them rather than truly convert their lives for the better. The “keep it real kingdom” has gotten increasingly more violent and negative since we lost our own Malcolm and Martin (Shakur and Wallace) almost a decade ago. While we keep them alive with posthumous albums, we’ve done a horrible job understanding the mistakes they made, and that we all made as a community profiting off the negativity. Life ain’t sweet. We know this. The music is gritty. The business is slimy. But it’s nothing to die for.

As Dr. King attempted to ensure our continued devotion to the ideals of our collective struggle with his legacy of sacrifice, so must we as a Hip-Hop community make sure that it will continue to be our voice, and our source for economic, political, and social advancement. For better or worse, Hip-Hop is how many people worldwide with no experience with people of color to see Black America. Not all of us are comfortable with that connection, especially the older generation, whose connection with our music and lifestyle adversely relates to their age. The older they are, the less likely they are to roll. So we arrive at a point in our history, where we are pitted against each other, for the favor of the collective, much as Dr. King faced opposition from the younger, more aggressive leadership of the SNCC.

Both hoping for the same goals, Dr. King was more willing to negotiate, the young college driven SNCC leadership impatient and ready for change now, were unwilling to bend or compromise. Because of Hip-Hop, Russell can navigate corporate America in his omnipresent Phat Farm, devoid of suit and tie. We can make deals and money outside of the system.

This is the freedom that we have sought for so long and some would say we are blowing it. However as judged by Kool Herc's recent stand with Senator Chuck Shumer,

defending the homes and right to ownership of the tenants of Hip-Hop's birthplace, we are not sitting on our asses. Outkast said "get up get out and get something" and that's exactly what we did, as Hip-Hoppers raised their collective consciousness in light of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, and the judicial inequality showcased in the Jena 6 incident. Our reality is ugly, and even though we camoflage it with bling, the pain and poverty that powers our music is true to the soul and message of Dr. King. Rappers like David Banner and Immortal Technique ARE speaking up. They are taking a responsible role in presenting these issues to our youth and to the world.

Often we forget in our haste to make history,the appreciation of the legacy of our past history. We stand on the shoulders of giants whose names we can’t remember, or choose to forget. Pioneers who dealt with ridicule and resistance when the world was “taking rappin for a joke.” It is that same spirit that ran through Dr. King. The attempt to face violence with peace did not necessarily seem pragmatic on face value. But whether or not you agree with the approach, the willingness to bring truth to the masses in the face of ridicule is congruous with the true spirit of Hip-Hop.

We should honor that legacy and that sacrifice, even while we cover it with ice. Let's make a true effort to honor that legacy. Restore that balance of Yin Yang, and leave this better than we found it. For the respect of our forbears, and the survival of those that come after us, let us keep Hip-Hop true to the essence of Dr. King’s spirit, and not some phantom phrase cooked up to politicize the man’s life.

We are living the results.http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2008/01/20/19146086.aspxAbove is the link to the site and replies.Check it out one of the best debates Ive seen on the net.This guy is exposed for the fraud he is.I am glad to tell you that thanks to the internet our message is getting out.More and more people are waking up because we know self love and unity is all we have to build upon.The Kala Nation under God

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

AS the March 29, 2008 parliamentary elections are approaching, it is the time for Zimbabweans to boldly assert their God-given right to be free of a foreign ruler. This should be a vote that would totally sweep away all the remaining vestiges of colonialism. It should be a vote of consolidating our revolutionary gains under the banner of the Third Chimurenga. So many sacrifices and precious lives were lost in this country because the white settlers could not give up our land.

The journey towards independence was tortuous and fraught with peril. Land was central in our struggle and Zimbabwe has become a shining example in Africa by giving back land to its original owners.

Was there any justice, morality and democracy when we hoisted our flag without economic independence? Was there any justice for only 4 000 whites to own all the fertile land in the country?

Our independence could be meaningless without land, and all the lives would have been lost in vain. All Western "democracies" are out in full throttle to fight our own version of democracy. Any form of democracy that jeopardises imperial interests is labelled despotic and tyrannical.

Remember the great African leader Sekou Toureh hinted that imperialism would find its death in Africa. He was right because Pan-Africanism -- which the enemies have been trying to stifle -- is now on the rise, and the flame has been lit in Zimbabwe. All the oppressed masses of African descent in the world are looking at Zimbabwe with hope.

Zimbabweans in their totality on March 29 should show the whole world that we are determined to bury global imperialism once and for all. This victory will give inspiration to the downtrodden and oppressed to keep fighting against cruelties that are a disgrace to humanity.

Zimbabweans should stand strong and defend their interests. Britain is fighting for her interests in Zimbabwe, and Zimbabweans should also fight for what is good for them.

For Zimbabweans, it is time for cool heads and bold decisions, not blind faith in Western machinations. It is time for Zimbabweans to stand strong and decide their own destiny without outside interference.

We should divert from the imperialistic mentality of letting America and Britain decide who heads our country or who gets kicked out of power. We should put our priorities right, and in this case land is first and elections later. Tony Blair, because of the mad-cow disease, put off elections in Britain in order to solve the mad-cow tragedy.

As former US Ambassador to the United Nations and first Black mayor of Atlanta, Andrew Young said in an interview with The Herald in 2001, demonising President Mugabe is betraying Africa's cause. Whoever is trying to accuse Cde Mugabe should first look at Cde Mugabe's political and economic records.

He is an international statesman, a true Pan-Africanist, and a dedicated anti-imperialist who stands strong against forces of Western imperialism in Africa.

This truth is why Britain and the US hate Cde Mugabe. He is still a darling and remains the only outstanding continental African liberation fighter.

This is why very few African leaders are willing to raise a finger against him, and can also explain why the sensible ones have kept mum.

I think for Zimbabweans it is time to consider the future of our children and forget differences and problems of the past -- and confront the real enemy.

Zimbabweans should see each other as one body, and develop the spirit of brotherhood in order to fight Western propaganda, hypocrisy and criticism.

The use of the media by the West as a hegemonic tool has been extensive in brainwashing us to the extent of desiring to be white people. These are all the disadvantages of the capitalistic system driven by the white man.

Zimbabwe is increasingly subjected to various forms of external and internal pressure, which are seriously affecting its security, political, economic and social structures.Relevant LinksSouthern AfricaZimbabwe

The biased Western media are not objectively reporting on Zimbabwe, but rather peddling falsehoods. Reasons cited for negative reporting include alleged poor governance, improper land distribution without compensation, and mismanagement of the economy.

Some of the criticism is ill conceived and outrageous, particularly the argument that if President Mugabe goes then everything will be all right.

Reports or any suggestions that the land issue will go away if Cde Mugabe goes away are a dangerous fallacy that Western administrations are putting in people's minds.Zimbabwe: Imperialism Will Meet Its Death On Election Day

The Herald (Harare)Published by the government of Zimbabwe

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The Herald (Harare)

OPINION19 March 2008Posted to the web 19 March 2008

Kwanisai MafaHarare

AS the March 29, 2008 parliamentary elections are approaching, it is the time for Zimbabweans to boldly assert their God-given right to be free of a foreign ruler. This should be a vote that would totally sweep away all the remaining vestiges of colonialism. It should be a vote of consolidating our revolutionary gains under the banner of the Third Chimurenga. So many sacrifices and precious lives were lost in this country because the white settlers could not give up our land.

The journey towards independence was tortuous and fraught with peril. Land was central in our struggle and Zimbabwe has become a shining example in Africa by giving back land to its original owners.

Was there any justice, morality and democracy when we hoisted our flag without economic independence? Was there any justice for only 4 000 whites to own all the fertile land in the country?

Our independence could be meaningless without land, and all the lives would have been lost in vain. All Western "democracies" are out in full throttle to fight our own version of democracy. Any form of democracy that jeopardises imperial interests is labelled despotic and tyrannical.

Remember the great African leader Sekou Toureh hinted that imperialism would find its death in Africa. He was right because Pan-Africanism -- which the enemies have been trying to stifle -- is now on the rise, and the flame has been lit in Zimbabwe. All the oppressed masses of African descent in the world are looking at Zimbabwe with hope.

Zimbabweans in their totality on March 29 should show the whole world that we are determined to bury global imperialism once and for all. This victory will give inspiration to the downtrodden and oppressed to keep fighting against cruelties that are a disgrace to humanity.

Zimbabweans should stand strong and defend their interests. Britain is fighting for her interests in Zimbabwe, and Zimbabweans should also fight for what is good for them.

For Zimbabweans, it is time for cool heads and bold decisions, not blind faith in Western machinations. It is time for Zimbabweans to stand strong and decide their own destiny without outside interference.

We should divert from the imperialistic mentality of letting America and Britain decide who heads our country or who gets kicked out of power. We should put our priorities right, and in this case land is first and elections later. Tony Blair, because of the mad-cow disease, put off elections in Britain in order to solve the mad-cow tragedy.

As former US Ambassador to the United Nations and first Black mayor of Atlanta, Andrew Young said in an interview with The Herald in 2001, demonising President Mugabe is betraying Africa's cause. Whoever is trying to accuse Cde Mugabe should first look at Cde Mugabe's political and economic records.

He is an international statesman, a true Pan-Africanist, and a dedicated anti-imperialist who stands strong against forces of Western imperialism in Africa.

This truth is why Britain and the US hate Cde Mugabe. He is still a darling and remains the only outstanding continental African liberation fighter.

This is why very few African leaders are willing to raise a finger against him, and can also explain why the sensible ones have kept mum.

I think for Zimbabweans it is time to consider the future of our children and forget differences and problems of the past -- and confront the real enemy.

Zimbabweans should see each other as one body, and develop the spirit of brotherhood in order to fight Western propaganda, hypocrisy and criticism.

The use of the media by the West as a hegemonic tool has been extensive in brainwashing us to the extent of desiring to be white people. These are all the disadvantages of the capitalistic system driven by the white man.

Zimbabwe is increasingly subjected to various forms of external and internal pressure, which are seriously affecting its security, political, economic and social structures.Relevant LinksSouthern AfricaZimbabwe

The biased Western media are not objectively reporting on Zimbabwe, but rather peddling falsehoods. Reasons cited for negative reporting include alleged poor governance, improper land distribution without compensation, and mismanagement of the economy.

Some of the criticism is ill conceived and outrageous, particularly the argument that if President Mugabe goes then everything will be all right.

Reports or any suggestions that the land issue will go away if Cde Mugabe goes away are a dangerous fallacy that Western administrations are putting in people's minds.Millions of innocent human beings all over Africa die from the ravages of war, hunger and disease because of the greed of Britain and other Western countries that organised and operated the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

If bribes, fear and intimidation do not work for them in their quest for world domination, then it's war. Somehow the war is called a war "to promote democratic principles," and the gullible believes that.

Since World War II, liberation movements in all parts of Africa have sought to end five centuries of subjugation and varying forms of tutelage imposed by Western powers, but as one colonial power after another conceded independence to African dominions, they often tried -- with different degrees of success and failure -- to install dependent stooge regimes and institutions that would pose no threat to traditional colonial interests.

US and Belgian manipulation and involvement in the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, saw a surrogate regime of Mobutu Sese Seko being put in place. The Congo and its people, including neighbouring states in Central Africa, have since seen no peace.

Kwame Nkrumah, who earlier on realised the importance of continental unity and the curse of imperial exploitation through multinationals, was overthrown in a CIA-engineered coup.

His country has not totally regained stability and development since. Between January 1956 and the end of 1985, there were 60 successful coups in Africa -- that is an average of two every year. In 1966 alone, there were eight military coups, and by 1986, out of some 50 African states only 18 were under civilian rule.

Behind every coup was the hand of another imperial power, and, more often than not, it was the US.

Overthrowing nationalist regimes and installing tyrannical dictatorships was then fair game for today's "champions of democracy" and "good governance." The CIA has acted too far to exceed its mandates as an intelligence-gathering agency.

It has acted as a secret mafia engaged in assassinations, levying wars in other countries, organising mercenary forces in order to overthrow lawfully-established governments, and destabilising societies and regimes that they do not like.

They manipulate trade unions, use academics, and plant bogus stories in reputable Western newspapers and on the Internet. They collaborated with the then-apartheid South Africa over arms supplies, the invasion of Angola, and the development of nuclear weapons.

The US and its allies are sponsoring the installation of pirate radio stations and newspapers as part of propaganda, psychological warfare intended to undermine the beliefs, perceptions and value-systems of the people under the rule of the adversary government. Britain and the US use large numbers of foreign-aid personnel to conduct propaganda, gather intelligence, and fund opposition political parties.

The foreign-aid personnel infiltrate deeply into the socio/politico fabric of Zimbabwe and other countries without arousing undue suspicion.

As in the rest of the world, US policy views Africa as a continent where Pan-Africanism should be eradicated -- a goal that would deny real independence to African countries by imposing and sustaining client regimes.

Today, AFrica is integral to the West economically -- oil for the US from Libya and Nigeria, uranium for Britain from Namibia, and huge American and EEC investment in South Africa, Kenya and elsewhere.

It is none other than Zimbabweans that can answer the following questions: Who are the real enemies of Zimbabwe? Who are the real friends of Africa? Who should we guard against?Relevant LinksSouthern AfricaZimbabwe

Who should we work with? Who can we ask from? It is none other than the African that can answer . . .

"Tisakanganwa chazuro nehope, nyika ndeyedu iyi."

Kwanisai Mafa is based at the Midlands State University ,Gweru. He is a Pan-Africanist organiser regionally and internationallyPage 2 of 2 1 2 All

Sunday, March 9, 2008

I have often wrote 'if you want real answers you have to ask real questions'.Now while I watch race traitors,racist people who hate my community,say how we are just lazy and we don't try in this country,lets look back in our history.The biggest lie perpetuated by people who mislead us is we are always depending on White folks for our means.On the contrary our whole history is one of trying to avoid them and build for our selves.Such was the story featured in this blog about the Black Wall Street,of Tulsa Oklahoma.The racist who say we are lazy do not want to own up to the problems that the racist terror brought to our community.It stopped all real progress among our people.Now we have to reverse this by force if need be.The racist don't want us to have a piece of this land for our selves even though it was just stolen from the Indians.The following is an account of what happened in the early part of the last century.-Kalagenesis

Black (Negro) Wall Street

From the Book

Black PeopleAnd Their Place In World History

By: Dr. Leroy Vaughn

CLICK HERE TO READ FREE REVIEW E-BOOK

he "Black (Negro) Wall Street" was the name given to Greenwood Avenue of North Tulsa, Oklahoma during the early 1900’s. Because of strict segregation, Blacks were only allowed to shop, spend, and live in a 35 square block area called the Greenwood district. The "circulation of Black dollars" only in the Black community produced a tremendously prosperous Black business district that was admired and envied by the whole country.

Oklahoma’s first African-American settlers were Indian slaves of the so-called "Five Civilized Tribes": Chickasaws, Choctaws, Cherokees, Creeks, and Seminoles. These tribes were forced to leave the Southeastern United States and resettle in Oklahoma in mid-winter over the infamous "Trail of Tears." After the Civil War, U.S.-Indian treaties provided for slave liberation and land allotments ranging from 40-100 acres, which helps explain why over 6000 African-Americans lived in the Oklahoma territory by 1870. Oklahoma boasted of more All-Black towns and communities than any other state in the land, and these communities opened their arms to freed slaves from all across the country. Remarkably, at one time, there were over 30 African-American newspapers in Oklahoma.

Tulsa began as an outpost of the Creek Indians and as late as 1910, Walter White of the NAACP, described Tulsa as "the dead and hopeless home of 18,182 souls." Suddenly, oil was discovered and Tulsa rapidly grew into a thriving, bustling, enormously wealthy town of 73,000 by 1920 with bank deposits totaling over $65 million. However, Tulsa was a "tale of two cities isolated and insular", one Black and one White. Tulsa was so racist and segregated that it was the only city in America that boasted of segregated telephone booths.

Since African Americans could neither live among Whites as equals nor patronize White businesses in Tulsa, Blacks had to develop a completely separate business district and community, which soon became prosperous and legendary. Black dollars invested in the Black community also produced self-pride, self-sufficiency, and self-determination. The business district, beginning at the intersection of Greenwood Avenue and Archer Street, became so successful and vibrant that Booker T. Washington during his visit bestowed the moniker: "Negro Wall Street." By 1921, Tulsa’s African-American population of 11,000 had its own bus line, two high schools, one hospital, two newspapers, two theaters, three drug stores, four hotels, a public library, and thirteen churches. In addition, there were over 150 two and three story brick commercial buildings that housed clothing and grocery stores, cafes, rooming houses, nightclubs, and a large number of professional offices including doctors, lawyers, and dentists. Tulsa’s progressive African American community boasted some of the city’s most elegant brick homes, well furnished with china, fine linens, beautiful furniture, and grand pianos. Mary Elizabeth Parrish from Rochester, New York wrote: "In the residential section there were homes of beauty and splendor which would please the most critical eye." Well known African American personalities often visited the Greenwood district including: educators Mary McCloud Bethune and W.E.B. DuBois, scientist George Washington Carver, opera singer Marian Anderson, blues singer Dinah Washington, and noted Chicago chemist Percy Julian.

T.P. Scott wrote in "Negro City Directory": "Early African American business leaders in Tulsa patterned the development of Tulsa’s thriving Greenwood district after the successful African American entrepreneurial activity in Durham, North Carolina."

After the Civil War, former slaves moved to Durham from the neighboring farmlands and found employment in tobacco processing plants. By 1900, a large Black middle class had developed which began businesses that soon grew into phenomenally successful corporations, especially North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. Charles Clinton Spaulding was so successful with the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company that he was able to create a real estate company, a textile and hosiery mill, and the "Durham Negro Observer" newspaper. Durham Blacks also created a hospital, Mechanics and Farmers Bank (1908), North Carolina Training College (1910), Banker’s Fire Insurance Company (1920), and the National Negro Finance Company (1922). However, living conditions in Durham were so substandard and working conditions so poor that the 1920 mortality rate among Blacks in Durham was three times higher than the White rate. As of 1926, 64% of all African Americans in Durham died before the age of 40. These perilous working and living conditions were not present in Tulsa.

Burning BlackWall Streetbws2.JPG (45124 bytes)

Art bySherwood Akuna

On May 31, 1921,the successfulBlack Greenwood districtwas completely destroyedby one of the worse race riotsin U.S. history.

A 19 year old Black male accidentally stumbled on a jerky elevator and bumped the 17-year-old White elevator operator who screamed. The frightened young fellow was seen running from the elevator by a group of Whites and by late afternoon the "Tulsa Tribune" reported that the girl had been raped. Despite the girl’s denial of any wrongdoing, the boy was arrested and a large mob of 2000 White men came to the jail to lynch the prisoner.

About 75 armed African Americans came to the jail to offer assistance to the sheriff to protect the prisoner. The sheriff not only refused the assistance but also deputized the White mob to disarm the Blacks. With a defenseless Black community before them, the White mob advanced to the Greenwood district where they first looted and then burned all Black businesses, homes, and churches. Any Black resisters were shot and thrown into the fires. When the National Guard arrived, they assisted the others by arresting all Black men, women, and children, and herding them into detention centers at the Baseball Park and Convention Hall. As many as 4,000 Blacks were held under armed guard in detention.

Dr. Arthur C. Jackson, a nationally renowned surgeon and called by the Mayo brothers (of Mayo Clinic fame) "the most able Negro surgeon in America", was shot at the Convention Hall and allowed to bleed to death.

CLICK HERE TO READ FREE REVIEW E-BOOKThe "Chicago Tribute" Newspaper reported that Whites also used private airplanes to drop kerosene and dynamite on Black homes. By the next morning the entire Greenwood district was reduced to ashes and not one White was even accused of any wrongdoing, much less arrested.

The race riot of Tulsa, Oklahoma was not an isolated event in American history. On May 28, 1917 a White mob in East St. Louis, Illinois of over l3,000, ravaged African American stores, homes, and churches. Eyewitnesses reported that over 100 Blacks were gunned down as they left their burning homes including a small Black child who was shot and thrown back into the burning building to die. Seven white police officers charged with murder by the Illinois Attorney General were collectively fined $150. During the "Red Summer" of 1919, over 25 race riots were recorded (white mobs attacking black neighborhoods). In the 1919 race riot at Elaine, Arkansas, White mobs killed over 200 African Americans and burned their homes and businesses. Federal troops arrested hundreds of Blacks trying to protect their possessions and forcibly held them in basements of the city’s public schools. Twelve Blacks were indicted (no Whites) and convicted of inciting violence and sentenced to die. The NAACP persuaded the U.S. Supreme Count for the first time in history to reverse a racially biased southern court. Director John Singleton exposed the horror of the Rosewood, Florida massacre of 1922 in his film entitled "Rosewood". A White mob burned down the entire town and tried to kill all of its Black inhabitants. In April 1994, the Florida legislature passed the "Rosewood Bill", which awarded $150,000 to each of the riot’s nine eligible Black survivors.

After the Tulsa riot, the White inhabitants tried to buy the Black property and force Black people out of town. No Tulsa bank or lending institution would make loans in the riot-marred Greenwood district, and the city refused all outside assistance. However, racial pride and self-determination would not permit the Greenwood owners to sell, and they doggedly spend the entire winter in tents donated by the American Red Cross. Rebuilding was a testament to the courage and stamina of Tulsa’s pioneers in their struggle for freedom.

Photo BySherwood Akuna Most of the buildings along the first block of Greenwood Avenue were rebuilt within one year. Henry Whitlow wrote: "A little over a decade after the riot, everything was more prosperous than before." In 1926, W. E. B. DuBois visited Tulsa and wrote: "Black Tulsa is a happy city. It has new clothes. It is young and gay and strong. Five little years ago, fire and blood and robbery leveled it to the ground. Scars are there, but the city is impudent and noisy. It believes in itself. Thank God for the grit of Black Tulsa."

Like Black Tulsa, African Americans can continue to survive by self-pride, self-help, and self-determination.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Conventional historical considerations of the "Civil Rights era" tend to focus on the period between the Brown v. Board decision of 1954 and the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Most of these histories explore the various ways and means organizers such as Ella Baker, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Fannie Lou Hamer demanded that their citizenship as Americans trump race in all matters of civil rights. Yet it is infinitely more helpful—as well as more accurate—to place the "Civil Rights era" within the context of a much longer, and much more global, struggle for black American freedom. Indeed, the saga of the African American experience in South Africa allows us to expand our notion of the "Civil Rights era" in conceptual, chronological, and geographic terms. By exploring the migration of African Americans to South Africa, and more specifically their citizenship demands while there, it is clear that the African American struggle for civil rights can be studied profitably outside the bounds of the American nation-state, well before the mid-twentieth century "Civil Rights era." 1 This essay develops these themes primarily through the attempts of African American missionaries Herbert and Bessie Mae Payne and James and Lucinda East to leverage their American citizenship to overcome South Africa's informal ban on foreign blacks entering and remaining in the country. It also provides a unique view of American-South African diplomacy in the early 20th century and is an affirmative response to recent calls to embrace an interactive "homeland and diaspora" model that bridges the emergent historiography of the African Diaspora with that of continental Africa. Simultaneously, this article redresses the shortage of analysis on Africa and Africans within African Diaspora and Black Atlantic Studies by centering a diasporic population in Africa itself. Simultaneously, the transnational orientation of this work brings a global dimension to African American history while also moving South African history beyond its occasionally parochial nature.2 2 By the time Herbert and Bessie Mae Paynes arrived in South Africa in 1917 to replace the Easts (who had been there since 1910), African Americans were a familiar presence in South Africa. A small group of sailors, adventurers and tradesmen had been in the area since as early as the 1780s, but they became the subject of considerable commentary and scrutiny in the southern African region after 1890. From that year to 1898, Orpheus McAdoo's Virginia Jubilee Singers dazzled black and white spectators alike with their virtuoso singing, theatrical performances and cosmopolitan flair. Concurrently, the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) and the National Baptist Convention (NBC) both established an African American missionary presence in South Africa. African Americans like Horatio Scott alternately worked in the region's gold and diamond mines (where American technology and expertise was crucial) and participated in the military conquests of the British South Africa Company. Hubert "Yankee" Wood, another African American, founded the Kokstad Advertiser, and operated a hotel and restaurant.3 3 The black American presence in the region sparked an ongoing American-South African diplomatic dialogue that sought to determine if South Africa's racially discriminatory laws should include Americans of color. Before the South African War (1899-1902), American consulates repeatedly sought to protect the citizenship rights of black Americans. Citizenship trumped race. For instance, in 1893, a white policeman in the Transvaal publicly whipped John Ross, a black American, for supposed "impudence." The United States Department of State supported Ross in a claim against the Transvaal government for damages totaling $10,000. William Van Ness, the American consul at Johannesburg, demanded the Transvaal government give the matter their "immediate attention," stating unequivocally that "the laws of the United States make no distinction in citizenship between white and colored."4 The American consulate in Johannesburg subsequently protested several other discriminatory incidents against African Americans who white South Africans mistook for "natives."5 4 To prevent further outrages, the American government required all African Americans to register at the Johannesburg consulate, where they were issued American passports (if they did not already have one). The passports gave black Americans "honorary white" status and exempted them from the Transvaal's racially exclusive laws. AME bishop Henry McNeal Turner, cloaked with "honorary white" status during an 1898 visit to South Africa, asserted that there had been little trouble from the Transvaal government since "President Cleveland forced the Boers to pay $25,000 because they beat some black American," presumably Ross. Turner's celebrity even attracted the attention of Paul Kruger, the Transvaal president, who told the ebullient bishop that he had never shaken the hand of a "colored person" before. Turner maintained that black Americans had unrestricted use of railroads and hotels in South Africa and declared that "prejudice does exist but it is not of the kind found in America. It is not race prejudice at all but prejudice of condition."6 5 American diplomatic intervention extended beyond the Boer republics to the British colonies of Natal and Cape Colony. In Durban, the American consul intervened and had the British suspend prosecution proceedings against Richard Collins, a member of the McAdoo troupe, who police mistakenly thought was an African violating Natal's liquor laws. In the Cape Colony, African American sailor Harry Dean noted, "the American government, while not thoroughly honorable in all respects, will seldom endure…insults to its citizens."7 Given the available evidence, U.S. diplomats clearly emphasized the American citizenship of African Americans, which effectively overrode South Africa's racially exclusive laws. American diplomatic assertiveness was facilitated by the acquiescence of the Boer Republics, who desired to maintain friendly relations with the United States to offset the growing regional British influence.8 6 Africans were particularly intrigued with African Americans, whose "honorary white status" threatened to disrupt white claims that the supposed characteristics of "civilization" and "modernity" were racially exclusive. White segregationists justified racial discrimination with the claim that they were fully "civilized" persons, a state of modernity that could be measured by supposedly objective criteria. Europeans (particularly men) were modern citizens because they supposedly possessed the markers of modernity: nation-states, technological and scientific innovation, Christianity, western education and clothing, the Protestant work ethic, and in many instances, facility in the English language. Conversely, "darker races" were supposedly "raw, primitive, tribalized, traditional, backward natives" because they had no nation-states, only "tribes," no identifiable scientific innovation, little or no grasp of Christianity or Western education, wore shamefully few clothes, and were lazy and spoke "dialects" rather than European languages. Such categorization contrasted European enlightenment with the "Dark Continent" of Africa, white reason with black irrationality, European civility with African primitiveness and exoticism, European dynamic progress with African static timelessness. 9 7 This white segregationist narrative utilized a notion of "racial time." They argued that the white-over-black social order was the natural result of a two thousand year climb from barbarism to an exalted civilization that proved whites belonged at the top of the global human pyramid. Such narratives presented white-over-black dominance as the "White Man's Burden" to uplift barbarous blacks beginning their own two thousand year climb toward civilization under "benevolent" white tutelage. In other words, the "darker races" were two thousand years behind whites in the race toward civilization. Yet the very presence of African Americans demonstrated the falsity of this "racial time" trope, for their "honorary white" status was a tacit acknowledgement that they acquired all the hallmarks of "civilization" only a generation out of slavery. The Virginia Jubilee Singers, onstage in South Africa both inside and outside the theater, as well as African American missionaries like Turner, posited Christianity and education as the mechanisms that sparked the transition from "barbarity" to "civilization." They impressed onlookers with their recounting of how American blacks had quickly established numerous religious, educational, and socio-economic institutions during American Reconstruction on a scale unheard of in South Africa.10 Impressed Africans:

Could not quite understand what sort of people they were. Some of them hesitated to class them as kaffirs, as they seemed so smart and tidy in appearance, and moved about with all the ease and freedom among the white people that a high state of civilization and education alone can give.11

8 Imvo Zabantsundu proclaimed the racial unity between Africans and African Americans, proudly editorializing that the Jubilee Singers provided a tangible example of black civility, sophistication, and achievement that many whites were loathe to recognize:

As Africans, we are, of course, proud of the achievements of those of our race. Their visit will do their countrymen no end of good. Already it has suggested reflections to many who, without such a demonstration, would have remained skeptical as to the possibility, not to say probability, of the Natives of this country being raised to anything above remaining as perpetual hewers of wood and drawers of water. The recognition of the latent abilities of the Natives, and of the fact that they may yet play a part peculiar to themselves in the human brotherhood, can not fail to exert an influence for the mutual good of all the inhabitants of this country.12 [italics mine]

As a result, Africans like Josiah Semouse, a Kimberley postal worker, used African American achievement as a measuring stick for African development:

Hear! Today they have their own schools, primary, secondary and high schools, and also universities. They are run by them without the help of whites. They have magistrates, judges, lawyers, bishops, ministers and evangelists, and school masters. Some have learned a craft such as building etc. When will the day come when the African people will be like the Americans? When will they stop being slaves and become nations with their own government?13

9 The British victory in the South African War, and South Africa's subsequent incorporation as a Crown Colony, inaugurated a new era that marked the end of the "honorary white" status of African Americans. Race increasingly trumped citizenship. South African discriminatory policies toward Africans also began to affect black Americans for three primary and interrelated reasons. First, British colonial authorities, missionaries and other citizens began to view African Americans as dangerous agitators who filled the heads of otherwise docile Africans with democratic notions of racial equality. These views crystallized particularly in the increased animus toward "Ethiopianism," or separatist African Christian movements. Second, the onset of Jim Crow legislation in the United States by the late nineteenth century, which subsequently diminished the legal status of blacks in America, made American diplomats more likely to accept South Africa's racially exclusive laws. Third, British colonial authorities enacted a range of pro-British economic policies that had the effect of lessening the American political and economic influence that had leveraged American diplomatic assertiveness in protecting the "honorary white" status of African Americans. 10 By the early twentieth century, white South Africans associated African Americans with Ethiopianism, the growing separatist movement by African Christians to establish their own churches. Such African Christians, known as "Ethiopians," saw Ethiopia as the site of a historic black Christian nation that had both defeated the Italians and maintained its independence as the rest of Africa became colonized by European powers. Ethiopia was also a scriptural referent, as in Psalms 68:31, which stated "Princes Shall Come Out of Egypt and Ethiopia Shall Stretch Forth Her Hands Unto God." Although primarily a religious movement, Ethiopianism rejected white authority, an implicitly political perspective that many whites viewed as a prelude to an eventual African challenge to white political domination.14 By 1893, several newspapers, white missionaries, and government officials began to refer to Ethiopianism as a dangerous political movement. The Cape Times was particularly perceptive in noting the political implications of the Ethiopian churches:

It is a patriotic movement, in that it seeks to enlist the sympathies and support of all natives qua natives; it is political in that one of the fundamental principles of the organization is to proceed much on the working lines of the Afrikaner Bond, though of course with directly opposite aspirations, and it is ecclesiastical, and for this reason exercises a disturbing effect upon the native mind.15

11 African Americans played a role in Ethiopianism. The most tangible link to the movement was the 1896 incorporation of the separatist Ethiopian Church of South Africa into the 14th district of the AME Church. Additionally, NBC missionaries like C.S. Morris offered sympathetic comments toward Ethiopianism. Certainly, some American blacks who observed similar racial discrimination in both the United States and South Africa forged a common bond with Africans and advocated pro-African programs that South African whites (as well as some blacks) saw as subversive. Two African American journals, The Colored American Magazine and The Voice of the Negro regularly published aggressive pro-African articles and often employed the "Africa for Africans" slogan associated with the Ethiopian movement. These were, however, relatively isolated voices within the African American community. Yet the South African government grossly overestimated the black American involvement with Ethiopianism. Indeed, the supposed "subversiveness" of Ethiopianism was one reason why the British organized in 1903 the South African Native Affairs Commission (SANAC), which established a unified "native policy" among the four provinces. The SANAC hearings, which continued until 1905, indicated that for the South African government as well as white missionaries, the image of black Americans had begun to change from leading participants in the "civilizing mission" to primary adherents of the separatist Ethiopian movement. A missionary for the Free Church of Scotland missionary argued:

I would like to say that there is a danger of a great deal of evil happening through these blacks from America coming in and mixing with the natives of South Africa. These men from America for generations suffered oppression, and they have naturally something to object to in the white man and a grievance against the white man. These men from America come in and make our natives imagine they have grievances when there are no grievances.16

12 Another missionary unwittingly forecast South Africa's future immigration policy, suggesting that black Americans be declared prohibited immigrants for their supposedly destabilizing views.17 SANAC officially concluded that African American missionaries were not espousing rebellious doctrine. Nevertheless, many whites in South Africa and America increasingly regarded African Americans as primary causative agents of African discontent and rebellion against white rule. The fearful perception of an incipient African uprising, encouraged by black Americans, became known in South Africa as the Swaart Gevaar or "Black Peril" and led to hardened societal sentiment against both African Americans and Africans.18 13 The South African government's increased aversion to African Americans intensified racial discrimination against them. South African segregation policies now came to include African Americans, who, like their African brethren, could not use public transportation, walk on public sidewalks, or purchase liquor. In 1904, the pro-segregationist author Roderick Jones illustrated the South African growing resentment toward American blacks by maintaining that "American Negroes, whose teachings, if not deliberately seditious, implant in the native mind crude ideas about the brotherhood of man, and fosters a separatist spirit wholly incompatible with strict loyalty to…white rule." Jones also noted that South Africans had a growing willingness to "bundle the American Negro, bag and baggage, out of the country, under a law excluding undesirables." The 1906-08 Bambatha rebellion also increased white fears of the supposed African American threat. Some contemporary accounts erroneously attributed much of the blame for these uprisings to American blacks. In response to the rebellion, government restrictions became even more stringent. By 1906, standard South African policy was to deport most black Americans and refuse admittance to incoming blacks.19 14 Meanwhile, South African authorities converted several SANAC recommendations into draconian laws that accelerated the course of segregation there. These laws included the Native Regulation Act (1911), the Mines and Works Act (1911), the Natives Land Act (1913), and the Immigration Act Number 22 (1913). The government designed these laws to control the African majority within a segregated system that codified white-over-black racial hierarchies and provided a ready supply of African labor. The Immigration Act intensified existing laws and was used to deny non-whites (including the Paynes) entrance into South Africa. American consular officials regularly fielded discriminatory complaints from black Americans, several of whom the South African government prosecuted for violation of segregationist laws. 15 After the British victory in the South African War, the British government reassured local South African authorities that there would be no interference with the dominion's domestic racial policies:

Your fate is in your own hands… Do not anticipate any other meddling on the part of Downing Street, or of any section of the British people…the good sense of the British people will never tolerate any intermeddling in the purely domestic concerns of the people to whom it has conceded the fullest liberties of government.20

With this autonomy, a Transvaal court convicted Thomas Brown, an African American, for attempting to buy liquor, an illegal act for Africans. Brown had based his case on his American citizenship, arguing that "a man who is entitled to the vote in his own country is surely entitled to have a bottle of sherry in this country."21 The presiding judge disagreed, and ruled that Brown's skin color overrode the rights and privileges of his American citizenship. Initially supportive of Brown, the American consulate ultimately refused to intervene.22 16 In another case, William Henry Sampson complained to the American consul in Pretoria in 1906 that he was prohibited from purchasing liquor. Upon inquiry to the South African Secretary of Native Affairs, the American consul assented to the country's stipulation that local law "applied to all coloured persons without exception, and that no provision is made for the exception from its operation of any coloured citizens of America."23 The Brown and Sampson cases illustrated the increasing willingness of American diplomats to acquiesce to South Africa's discriminatory treatment toward black Americans. One American consular agent assuaged his conscience by noting that South Africa's segregationist policies were not appreciably different from American Jim Crow laws, which should have made segregation more familiar and natural to African Americans in South Africa. 17 Increasingly, the South African government made fewer legal distinctions between Africans and African Americans. Indeed, James Thompson, an American black working in the South African mines, successfully sought medical compensation for silicosis under the government's 1911 Miner's Phthisis Act, which defined a "native" as being "a member of the aboriginal races or tribes of Africa." This definition now included American blacks who "undoubtedly sprang from an aboriginal African race, the Negro race of Africa." Several consulates, noting the hostile racial climate, urged black Americans to avoid South Africa altogether.24 18 In addition to racial considerations, American acquiescence also reflected declining American economic influence in the region after the South African War. Between 1886 and 1902, Americans had had significant influence in the region's burgeoning mining industry. By 1896, for example, American engineers operated over half of South Africa's mines. Led by the mercurial John Hays Hammond, the American mining community facilitated the dominance of American mining equipment on the Witwatersrand and aggressively sought to widen American commercial influence. In addition, the non-mining American commercial influence greatly increased during this time, with companies such as Singer (sewing machines) and Kodak (cameras) dominating the regional market by the century's end. Even the notorious British imperialist Cecil Rhodes found American influence disconcerting.25 This increased American commercial involvement before the war led to the establishment of a Pretoria consulate in 1898, the assignment of more experienced consuls to Cape Town, and an extradition treaty with the Orange Free State that sought to protect the rights of American businessmen in South Africa. This economic and technological influence probably contributed to the region's policies, particularly in the Transvaal, that granted African Americans the "honorary white" passports that exempted them from the harsh measures affecting Africans."26 19 However, American economic influence declined significantly during South African Reconstruction after the war. Concerned about American commercial competition, the British government erected protective tariffs, limited the mobility of American businessmen, and encouraged the replacement of American mine managers and engineers with South African and British citizens. In addition, South African banks, dominated by British capital, often refused to provide American businessmen with loans. By 1903, South Africa also virtually eliminated its dependence on American cotton and turned to cotton imports from Egypt and India.27 As a result of these measures, the American commercial presence declined precipitously. In 1903, American exports to South Africa totaled thirty million dollars; in 1904, British tariffs effectively reduced American exports to just fourteen million dollars. Declining American economic presence translated into decreased political strength, making American diplomats less willing to endanger relations by protecting the citizenship rights of American blacks. The postwar British government overtly and successfully limited the American commercial and, by extension, political influence. This policy was in direct contrast with the pre-war Boer republics, which openly sought closer relations with Americans and were more likely to acquiesce to American protests on behalf of African American citizens.28 20 By 1917, as the Paynes sought entry to South Africa, the American diplomatic position had shifted decisively to one of acquiescence to South African racism. And although the Paynes were aware of South Africa's racial antagonisms, they did not anticipate that they would become casualties of the government's strong aversion toward black Americans. 21 African Americans, in the minds of South African authorities, had been transformed from "honorary whites" to "black perils," a fact that the Reverend Herbert A. Payne of New York and his wife Bessie Mae were aware of when they left the United States in January 1917, bound for South Africa via England. The Paynes were Baptist missionaries under the auspices of the 2.5 million-member National Baptist Convention (NBC). They received instructions from the NBC Foreign Mission Board to relieve the Reverend James East and his family at the NBC's Eastern Cape mission in Middledrift.29 The Paynes, upon arrival in London, consulted authorities in the British Colonial Office and the British Home Office regarding South Africa's immigration policy. Neither office indicated any expected difficulty, but the Colonial Office recommended that the Paynes consult with W.P. Schreiner, the High Commissioner of Affairs for South Africa. Schreiner did not meet with the Paynes, but personnel from his office reviewed South Africa's 1913 Immigration Act with the missionaries. Neither party found any written clause that banned African Americans from migrating to South Africa. Somewhat relieved, the Paynes endorsed their passports at the American embassy and prepared for their voyage to South Africa.30 22 After making the necessary travel arrangements, the Paynes sailed aboard the S.S. Galway Castle en route to East London, the port town closest to Middledrift. During a stopover in Cape Town, South African immigration authorities informed the disbelieving missionaries that they could not enter the country. At best, authorities said the Paynes could obtain a one-month temporary residence permit with a security deposit of eighty pounds (four hundred dollars), while awaiting the first available American-bound vessel.31 Fortunately for the Paynes, Solomon Plaatje, a prominent member of the African National Congress who had been in England protesting South Africa's discriminatory policies, was also on board. The Paynes had become friendly with Plaatje during the voyage, and he intervened successfully on their behalf. Louis Botha, the South African Prime Minister, and Thomas Watt, the Minister of the Immigration Department, were both in Cape Town because Parliament was in session, and Plaatje appealed successfully to both to reverse the decision to immediately deport the Paynes and instead allow them time to appeal their case.32 23 While awaiting the Galway Castle's departure from Cape Town to East London, Payne wrote the American consulate in Cape Town and informed them of their detention as "undesirable immigrants." Payne appealed for advice and intervention and thanked the consulate "in advance for the assistance you will give us as American citizens" [italics mine]. George Murphy, the American consul-general at Cape Town, quickly responded. An unidentified source informed him that the Paynes' detention was due to their black skin. Murphy wrote to the South African Department of the Interior to confirm this information and to ascertain the particulars of the Paynes' anticipated deportation. In the first of a protracted American-South African diplomatic correspondence spanning five years, the Department of the Interior confirmed that "Under a Ministerial order, no coloured person is permitted to land in the Union of South Africa and it is in terms of this general order that the Reverend Payne and his wife were prohibited by the Minister."33 24 The Department of the Interior further asked the consulate to advise the American government of the non-white ban "so that in future, booking in regard to such people from America can be stopped." The Department also noted that this exclusionary policy was not public knowledge "for obvious reasons." The South African decision to ban African Americans reflected the insecurity of a white minority dwarfed by an African majority. In a consular dispatch to the State Department, Murphy summarized this fear and noted, "The natives in the Union so far exceed in number the white population that the question of permitting the admission of other negroes is considered a serious one, requiring a strict enforcement of the law."34 25 Murphy, continuing the fifteen-year pattern of American diplomats, accepted the Interior Department's explanation as domestic policy that was not subject to international debate, and pledged to forward this information to the American Department of State. A discouraged Murphy, mindful that the South African government had recently jailed two African American seamen, Timothy Johnson and Ewart Gibson, for almost two months while they awaited an U.S.-bound ship, sought to at least make the Paynes' detention more comfortable. He requested successfully that the Paynes, in consideration of their apparent good faith and Bessie Mae's gender, not be detained in jail or dock-detention barracks while awaiting a returning ship.35 Meanwhile, the Paynes argued that the British Colonial Office and the Immigration Act provisions did not ban African Americans from South Africa. However, Mr. Brande, the Principal Immigration Officer, flatly stated that the British Colonial Office had no authority to render binding decisions regarding South African immigration policy. He also noted that the basis for the Paynes' detention was a clause of the 1913 Immigration Act, which stipulated that "any person or class of persons deemed by the Minister on economic grounds or on account of standard or habits of life to be unsuited to the requirements of the Union or any particular Province thereof." This loosely worded section obviously gave Thomas Watt, Minister of the Interior, wide discretionary powers. In fact, the minister invoked the clause to exclude "all colored people" from entering the country, including British subjects.36 26 Along with Murphy's inquiries, Plaatje and Reverend East interceded on the Paynes' behalf. Plaatje remained in Cape Town for two weeks to rally support against legislation that eventually became the Native Administration Bill and also maintained an active interest in the fate of the Paynes. East journeyed to Cape Town and argued that the Paynes' temporary permit should extend to six months so that he could evaluate the Paynes' ability to lead the mission. But East, who had lived in South Africa since 1910 with his wife and his three South African-born children, was also under government attack. The government wanted him to renounce his domiciled rights, which he earned after three years' residence and which prevented his forcible deportation, and promise never to return to South Africa. East refused to relinquish these rights and instead desired to remain in South Africa until April 1918, citing the recent birth of a child and the desire for his wife and children to avoid the frigid North American winter.37 27

The Department of the Interior accepted East's request for a six-month permit for the Paynes, but stipulated that either the Paynes or Easts had to leave the country by August 25, the date the permit expired. If the Easts left and the Paynes stayed permanently, then East would forfeit his domiciled rights. East then asked Mr. Whitaker, the Middledrift magistrate, to appeal on behalf of the mission to Minister Watt. In his appeal, Whitaker acknowledged the government's concern with the supposed Ethiopianism of black American missionaries, noting, "It is known that some of this class of immigrants in some parts of the Union have been preaching the doctrine that this is a blackman's country."38 In his correspondence to the NBC, Payne also recognized the government's opposition to Ethiopianism and acknowledged the "strong effort to break up the independent native churches led by colored pastors." Yet the NBC had little or no involvement in Ethiopianism. Throughout the Payne affair, NBC representatives consistently disavowed Ethiopianism. East asserted that he harbored "no connection with the so-called Ethiopian movement, he being connected with the regular Baptist Church."39 The New York Baptist Ministers Conference issued a resolution on the Paynes' behalf that asserted that "no charge of preaching Ethiopianism (sic) or arraigning race against race has ever been charged against our organization." In fact, the Mission Herald, the newspaper of the NBC Foreign Board, consistently attacked Ethiopianism and the Africa for Africans slogan as "a growing menace." In summation, there is no evidence that indicates that the Paynes or other NBC representatives were involved in the Ethiopian movement at this time.40 In fact, Herbert Payne's disavowal of radicalism eventually led him to warn the South African government of the potential dangers of Marcus Garvey's American-based Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). The UNIA, the largest black-led movement in world history, rallied an estimated two million members in 1,100 branches in forty-three countries. In its heyday during the 1920's, the UNIA sought to construct an independent, decolonized "Africa for Africans," to promote black political, socio-economic, and educational advancement, and to encourage a self-affirming pride in black history and black culture. Outside North America and the Caribbean, Garveyism had its greatest impact in South Africa, where innumerable UNIA chapters were founded along with many other Garveyist-influenced organizations. However, South African authorities ignored Payne's political moderation, exemplified in his anti-Ethiopian and anti-Garveyist stance, and continued to regard the missionaries with great skepticism. 28 Payne continued to send letters to the NBC that detailed his difficulties, and asked for the necessary funds to appeal the Interior Department's decision. The NBC responded by instructing the Foreign Mission Board to be persistent in its appeals to the American Department of State to guarantee the rights of their missionaries, as American citizens, to spread the gospel in South Africa. J. Milton Waldron, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., began an intensive NBC letter-writing campaign with a June 13 letter to Assistant Secretary of State William Phillips. L.G. Jordan, the NBC Foreign Missions Corresponding Secretary, followed with a June 15 letter to Secretary of State Robert Lansing.41 29 Two themes emerged from the numerous letters sent by NBC representatives. First, NBC leaders consistently stressed their loyalty to the United States and repeatedly reminded the Department of State that African Americans were entitled to the rights, protections, and privileges of other American citizens. In other words, they continued the longstanding African American argument with white America that citizenship should override race. Second, the NBC mistakenly perceived that Britain mandated and enforced South African immigration policy. Several letters demanded that Britain show a measure of appreciation for the recent American entry into World War I by allowing the Paynes to remain in South Africa. Apparently, the NBC did not realize (or ignored the fact) that South Africa legislated and enforced its own domestic laws, including immigration policy. Britain represented the dominion nations like South Africa in foreign affairs, but not in domestic policy.42 30 The Department of State, in response to a deluge of NBC letters, instructed the Cape Town consulate to renew inquiries into the matter. The Department of the Interior responded by reiterating the necessity of the Paynes' August 25 departure unless East left and signed away his domiciled rights, promising never to return to the Union. Upon receiving this information, the Department of State notified the NBC and Platt of the South African government's continued intransigence.43 Meanwhile, the Paynes and Easts were concerned about the safety of sailing to America because of submarine warfare in the Atlantic Ocean. Both families sought South African permission to remain in the Union until the cessation of hostilities. The Department of the Interior refused this request, noting that other persons were traveling directly to America. 31 In July 1917, Murphy declared the matter closed and argued to the Department of State that his repeated inquiries to immigration authorities might provoke South African enmity. In defense of his position, he erroneously stated that the South African Immigration Act excluded persons of color. At any rate, the Department of State agreed with Murphy's decision and duly informed the NBC that the matter was closed. The NBC continued to demand that the Department of State "permit these American citizens to remain in Africa until travel from there to this country is better." They also argued that the Paynes were missionaries, not immigrants, a seemingly salient point that the Department of State answered by its continued acquiescence to South Africa's exclusionary policies.44 32 The Paynes, upon the advice of Murphy, began to seek passage for America. Their quandary deepened. British ships going directly to America refused to offer passage to prospective black customers. In addition, since the Pretoria authorities prohibited women and children from sailing to England because of submarine warfare, the Paynes could not reverse their initial America-Britain-South Africa route. The Paynes probably recognized the irony of the situation. Their skin color threatened to preclude them from residing in and leaving South Africa. The Department of the Interior, mindful of the situation, informed Brande to extend the Paynes' temporary permits on a month-to-month basis until they or the Easts could secure a steamer that accepted blacks.45 Indeed, even South African and American officials acknowledged the complications imposed upon the missionaries because "they are Negroes." Brande acknowledged that the Paynes could have a long wait, noting that the "Ellerman-Bucknall line, which has a good steamer going next month directly to the U.S., refuses to accept colored passengers either in the 1st or 2nd class." While awaiting a departing ship, the Paynes and Easts continued their mission work at Middledrift. The missionaries were busy responding to an influenza epidemic, drought, and an alarming rise in food costs during and immediately following World War I. In March 1920, Lucinda East and the children secured passage home; James followed in September. James and Lucinda never returned to South Africa. James became the NBC's Foreign Mission Board Corresponding Secretary and editor of the Mission Herald, a position he maintained until his death in 1934.46 33 The departure of the Easts seemed to shield the Paynes from further deportation threats. However, the South African government, in a panic about Garveyism and "American Negroes," mandated that the Paynes leave the country by June 1, 1921 or face imprisonment and the equivalent of a hundred dollar fine. With this news, the NBC resumed their appeals to the Department of State. The Department directed Alfred Winslow, the new Cape Town consul-general, to investigate the matter but extant records do not indicate that this occurred. At any rate, the Paynes were able to stay after the imposed deadline, remaining in Middledrift until 1923. The South African government refused to allow another African American missionary family to replace the Paynes.47 The Paynes' difficulty in South Africa had less to do with them specifically and much more to do with the changing South African environment they were entering. By 1917, there was increased African American-influenced political turbulence in South Africa, declining American economic influence in the country, and a lack of political will amongst American diplomats to protect their citizenship rights. 34 "American Negroes," albeit in ever-lessening numbers, continued to enter South Africa. African American bishops presided over southern African AME missions until 1948, when the Nationalist government refused the further entry of African Americans. The few African American visitors allowed to enter the country after 1923 (Ralph Bunche and Eslanda Robeson in the 1930s, Max Yergan in the 1950s, and NAACP leader Roy Wilkins and entertainer Eartha Kitt in the 1970s) did enjoy a renewed "honorary white" status, but this fact had little meaning since it remained extraordinarily difficult for African Americans to enter South Africa until the end of the apartheid period. Yet despite the increasing difficulty for African Americans to enter South Africa, the "American Negro" remained an iconic figure in South Africa. Black South Africans were particularly avid readers of Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery, W.E.B. Du Bois' Souls of Black Folk, the wry musings of Langston Hughes, and periodicals like the NAACPs Crisis and the UNIAs The Negro World. They remained enthralled with entertainment figures like Florence Mills and Paul Robeson, and with sporting heroes Joe Louis and Jesse Owens, both of whom defeated German athletes at a time when Adolf Hitler was trumpeting his particularly noxious brand of white supremacy. The pages of South African newspapers like The Bantu World, the Cape Standard and Umteteli wa Bantu were replete with admiring articles of "American Negro" progress and stern admonitions for Africans to follow suit. 35 Indeed, black South Africans, like ANC leader James Thaele and ICU General Secretary Clements Kadalie, affected American accents and trumpeted their connections to American Negroes as a means to enhance their legitimacy amongst their followers. Wellington Butelezi and Enoch Mbinjana were two South Africans who actually assumed American Negro identities in the service of their millennial brand of Garveyism. Thus, the South African government's harassment of the Paynes, Easts and other African Americans were ultimately futile, for the genie was already out of the bottle. Since the 1890s, Black South Africans had viewed African Americans as proof that modernity and "civilization"—and the full citizenship rights that such a status implied—were not the exclusive preserve of whiteness. Throughout much of the 20th century, the "American Negro" would remain a signifier of black modernity, and served as a tangible refutation to white supremacist notions of trusteeship and "racial time." This article has traced the transition of African Americans from "honorary whites"—when citizenship trumped race—to the post South African war period when their race overrode their citizenship and they were deemed to be "black perils." Ultimately, however, it was the combination of race and citizenship that made African Americans, in the minds of many white South Africans, the ultimate "Swaart Gevaar." 36 Even during the period that African Americans enjoyed "honorary white" status in South Africa, such designations reflected the fact that "whiteness" was equated with American citizenship. Scholars of that extraordinarily volatile racial category known as "white" tell us that various immigrant groups from Ireland and Southern and Eastern Europe became accepted within the American body politic only when they became classified as "white."48 Alas, this article reminds us that American citizenship—heavily raced from the outset—was not naturally occurring but was situational, exclusionary, and volatile. How ironic is it that, before 1902, African Americans had to travel nearly ten thousand miles to South Africa to access the privileges of American citizenship? How ironic is it that African Americans, historically excluded from citizenship rights because of race, have produced American patriots from Frederick Douglass to Martin Luther King, Jr. who have most eloquently expressed inclusive meanings of citizenship precisely because of a deep sensitivity and wisdom borne from their exclusion from the national body politic? African Americans in South Africa, like the Paynes and the Easts, were part and parcel of the centuries-long African American attempt to protect, expand and enforce America's lofty principles of equality, justice and democracy—at home and abroad. The example of the Paynes and Easts demonstrate clearly that the "Civil Rights" movement was not merely a domestic struggle waged in the 1950s and 1960s, but that it was a noble ideal ably nurtured and fought for by African Americans and their allies for centuries in both domestic and international contexts. The Civil Rights movement is not just American history; it is world history. 37

Biographical Note: Robert T. Vinson is assistant professor of History at Washington University in St. Louis, where his teaching and research is focused on the African Diaspora, South African history, and African-American History.Notes1 This article is an updated version of an essay previously published in Safundi: The Journal of South African and American Comparative Studies 13/14 (April 2004). It is reprinted with permission from Safundi http://www.safundi.com. If you wish to reprint or distribute this article, please e-mail info@safundi.com.

2 Patrick Manning, incorporating the longstanding methodological concerns of Africa-diaspora studies pioneers Joseph E. Harris and George Shepperson, invokes the term "homeland and diaspora model" to distinguish between scholars who give Africa and Africans prominent place in diasporic studies and those who use what he calls a "diaspora apart" model that privileges diasporic communities, rather than Africa and Africans, as the focus of scholarly inquiry. Patrick Manning, "Africa and the African Diaspora: New Directions of Study," Journal of African History 44 (2003), 487-506. See also Robin Kelley, "But a Local Phase of a World Problem: African American History's Global Vision" Journal of American History 86:3 (December 1999).

3 For the early African American presence in the region that became South Africa in 1910, see James T. Campbell, Songs of Zion: The African Methodist Episcopal Church in America and South Africa (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995); J. Mutero Chirenje, Ethiopianism and Afro-Americans in Southern Africa, 1883-1916 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1987); Joyce F. Kirk, Making a Voice: African Resistance to Segregation in South Africa (Boulder: Westview Press, 1998); Veit Erlmann, Music, Modernity and the Global Imagination (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999) and Keletso Atkins, "The Black Atlantic Communication Network: African American Sailors and the Cape of Good Hope Connection," in Lisa Brock ed., Issue: A Journal of Opinion 24:2, 1996. Historians estimate that of the approximately 2,500 American citizens in the Transvaal on the eve of the South African War, black Americans in South Africa never exceeded 100. See also Enid DeWaal, "American black residents and visitors in the South African Republic before 1899," South African Historical Journal 6 (November 1974), and Clement Tsehloane Keto, "Black Americans and South Africa, 1890-1910," Current Bibliography on African Affairs 5 (July 1972). For the general American economic influence in the southern African region in the late 19th century, see Richard W. Hull, American Enterprise in South Africa: Historical Dimensions of Engagement and Disengagement (New York: New York University Press, 1990), 58-115.

4 William Van Ness to Dr. Leyds, Transvaal Secretary of State, January 15, 1893, National Archives (hereafter NA); Consular Dispatches, Cape Town General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59 Microfilm publications, T 191, roll 15. (hereafter cited as: NA: State, RG 59, T 191, 15). I am grateful for the assistance of Ken Hager, Ph.D., and Martin F. McGann, both archival consultants at the U.S. National Archives.

8 For the Durban example, see Veit Erlmann, African Stars: Studies in Black South African Performance (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994), 22-23. The specific incident that sparked Dean's comment occurred sometime during the South African war (1899-1902). Both authors speak to the "honorary white" status of black Americans at this time. For more on the "honorary white" status of African Americans, see Dean, 78-79; Erlmann, 40-42; Hollis to Quincy, May 9, 1893. NA: State, RG 59, T 191, 15.

9 Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze, ed., Race and the Enlightenment (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1997); Valentin Y. Mudimbe, The Invention of Africa: Gnosis, Philosophy, and the Order of Knowledge (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988), 17. For a discussion of how some black South Africans responded to these narratives, see Ntongela Masilela, "The Black Atlantic and African Modernity in South Africa," Research in African Literatures 27: 4 (Winter 1997), 90.

10 For the McAdoo Singers generally, see Veit Erlmann, African Stars, chapter 2. The troupe was not immune to South African segregation as they encountered racial hostility in Worcester, KingWilliamsTown, and Bloemfontein, and several members ran afoul of pass laws. Though the white press consistently praised the troupe, some whites marveled at the exquisite singing: "and to think that black people should do it." McAdoo to Samuel Chapman Armstrong, Southern Workman (November 1920)

15 Cape Times editorial, July 31, 1893. Quoted in Chirenje, Ethiopianism and Afro-Americans, 24. The Afrikaner Bond was a culturally-oriented political movement by Afrikaners, the descendants of 17th century Huguenot settlers.

16 "The Ethiopian Movement", Lagos Weekly Record, July 1, 1905

17 Morris arrived in Cape Town in 1899 and eventually presided over seventeen congregations boasting over 1,200 new members. He sympathized with Ethiopianism, but when the NBC heard reports of their missionaries having Ethiopian ties, Morris was chosen to investigate. Not surprisingly, Morris reported no NBC connection to Ethiopianism. See L.G. Jordan, Negro Baptist History, U.S.A. (Nashville: National Baptist Convention, 1930), 124.

18 For instance, the report blamed black Americans for providing financial assistance to the Ethiopians. See Thomas Noer, Briton, Boer and Yankee: The United States and South Africa, 1870-1914 (Kent: Kent State University, 1978), 120. For black American disapproval, see "American Negroes Making Mischief in South Africa," Missionary Review of the World (May 1903), 396-97. The "Black Peril" also referred to the supposed sexual threat that black men posed to white women. See Timothy Keegan, "Gender, Degeneration and Sexual Danger: Imagining Race and Class In South Africa, ca. 1912," Journal of Southern African Studies 27:3 (September 2001).

19 Roderick Jones, "The Black Peril in South Africa," Nineteenth Century and After 55 (May 1904), 712-23; idem, "The Black Problem in South Africa," Nineteenth Century and After 56 (May 1905), 770-76; and Noer, Briton, Boer and Yankee, 115-18.

23 Ibid.; initially, Proffit, the U.S. consul, insisted that, "I am quite certain that the consular officers in this country have not brooked nor will they permit indignities to our citizens without protest to the proper authorities," Proffit to Loomis, NA: Consular Dispatches, Pretoria, December 28, 1903, RG 59, T660 Roll 2; South African Government Archives (hereafter SAGA), Secretary of Native Affairs, Transvaal Colony 1906, 310: 101, 106, 108, 109. I am grateful to Amanda Kemp for sharing this reference with me.

24 SAGA, February 1913, Department of Justice, 1/136. Phthisis, known also as silicosis, causes a hardening of lungs through undue exposure to dust. In 1907, rock-drilling miners had an annual mortality rate of 100 deaths per thousand. See Elaine Katz, The White Death: Silicosis on the Witwatersrand Gold Mines, 1886-1910 (Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University, 1994). Of course, the personal racial prejudices of some American diplomats contributed to their unwillingness to protect the citizenship rights of black Americans.

25 Richard Hull, American Enterprise in South Africa: Historical Dimensions of Engagement and Disengagement (New York: New York University Press, 1990), 58-107; James T. Campbell, "The Americanization of South Africa," in Andrew Offenburger, Scott Rosenberg and Christopher Saunders, eds., A South African and American Comparative Reader: The Best of Safundi and Other Selected Articles (Nashville: Safundi,2002), 29-32.

26 Noer, Briton, Boer and Yankee, chapter 3.

27 Noer, Briton, Boer and Yankee, 100.

28 Noer, Briton, Boer and Yankee, 186.

29 Jordan to Lansing, June 15, 1917; Jordan to Hughes, April 13, 1921, NA: Department of State Records of British Africa, (hereafter British Africa) Microfilm 583, Record Group 59, Roll 14; Mission Herald, January 1919.

30 In Britain and the former British territories, the term High Commissioner is roughly commensurate with the American diplomatic title of Ambassador.

31 The deposit would serve as a guarantee to the South African government that the Paynes would leave the country and would be refunded upon the missionaries' departure.

33 Payne to Murphy, NA: British Africa, February 22, 1917; Murphy to South African Department of Interior, ibid.; Department of the Interior to Murphy, NA: British Africa, February 26, 1917.

34 Department of the Interior to Murphy, NA: British Africa, February 26, 1917; Murphy to American Department of State, NA: British Africa, July 7, 1917.

35 Murphy to Department of the Interior, NA: British Africa, March 1, 1917.

36 Murphy to State, NA: British Africa, March 12, 1917; Pisar to State, NA: British Africa, November 27, 1922; Murphy to State, NA: British Africa, March 12, 1917.

37 Willan, Sol Plaatje, 205-06. Murphy to Department of the Interior, NA: British Africa, March 16, 1917; East to Department of the Interior, NA: British Africa, March 26, 1917, East to Brande, April 12, 1917.

38 Murphy to Secretary of the Interior, NA: British Africa, March 16, 1917.

39 East quoted in Murphy to Secretary of the Interior, NA: British Africa, March 16, 1917.

40 New York Baptist Ministers Conference, NA: British Africa, n.d.; J.M. Springer, "The Task of Tomorrow," Mission Herald, June 1919; Gregory A. Pirio and Robert A. Hill, "Africa for the Africans: The Garvey Movement in South Africa, 1920-1940," in Shula Marks and Stanley Trapido, eds. The Politics of Race, Class and Nationalism in Twentieth Century South Africa (New York: Longman Inc.,1987), 224.

41 Waldron to Phillips, NA: British Africa, June 13, 1917. Before Waldron's letter, the NBC appealed to the Foreign Mission Conference of North America for intervention. An umbrella organization of many Christian foreign missions, the Mission Conference advised the NBC to lobby the American government in hopes of successful intervention.

42 Besides the NBC correspondence, Lansing also received a letter from New York congressman Edmund Platt. Platt was acquainted with Bessie Mae's parents, John and Tillie Harden, who often served as wait staff in Platt's home during special occasions. Platt urged Lansing to relieve the Paynes of any unjust discriminatory treatment, noting that Bessie Mae and her parents were among the "most useful colored people in Poughkeepsie." Platt to Lansing, NA: British Africa, June 21, 1917.

43 State to Murphy, August 21, 1917; Murphy to State, June 22, 1917; Lansing to Platt, June 23, 1917; Murphy to Department of the Interior, June 22, 1917; Secretary of the Interior to Murphy, June 25, 1917, NA: British Africa; Phillips to Jordan, July 3, 1917; Lansing to Platt, July 3, 1917; Tillie Harden to Lansing July 1917, NA: British Africa.

44 Jordan to Polk, July 26, 1917; Carr to Jordan, August 2, 1917, NA: British Africa.

46 East to Jordan, November 24, 1919 in Mission Herald, January 1920. For the influenza epidemic, see East to Jordan in Mission Herald, January 1919; oral interview: Gladys East, December 26, 1995, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. East was the eldest daughter of James and Lucinda East's seven children. She was born in South Africa in 1910 and lived there until her parents left in 1920. In the late 1960s, she returned to Middledrift for a short visit and maintained regular contact with that mission throughout her life. For more on the cooperative activities of James East and D.D.T. Jabavu, see Farieda Kahn, "Rewriting South Africa's Conservation History-The Role of the Native Farmers Association," Journal of Southern African Studies 20:4 (December 1994), 499-516.

48 See David Roediger, The Wages of Whiteness: The Role of Race and the Making of the American Working Class (New York: Verso, 1999); Noel Ignatiev, How the Irish Became White (New York: Routledge, 1995). For an understanding of the ways Asian immigrants relate to early 20th century notions of American citizenship, see also Mae Ngai, Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004).

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We are in the last days the end of times.For the African-American people we face peril on the scale that no other people have face in the history of mankind.We are dying from a self destructive decay of sin,self hate,wickedness,deceit,hatred,and disunity.Only the 'Kala' or family will survive the rest will be marginalized and lost.We are suffering from a spiritual decay because we let our culture be taken over by the dregs among us.Those of us who want to save our people from this path are not racist or evil.That is what the media brainwashing the Black people to think.Separate development not separation is what the Kalagenesis is about.We believe all men are brothers but we have the right as African -American to be a people among ourselves first.Like in the words of the late great Malcolm X.There can be no Black/White unity until there is first some Black unity.The Kalagenesis believes we should build among ourselves and don't make excuses for criminal or bad behavior in our community.We believe that being proud of who and what we are as an African people and being part of the African family of nations.One blood.After that we can build with other people based on being in a position of strength.